-Love isn't Safe-
by uniicornbitch
Summary: Aihara Kotoko (Class F) somehow ends up living with Irie Naoki (Class A), the guy she's in love with and who rejected her love letter. She'll try the impossible to make him fall for her, even if that means going through hell. Will she get tired of getting nothing but a broken heart and give up?
1. CHAPTER I

I do not own Itazura Na Kiss, nor do I own any character of it. This is just fanfiction written for fun and nothing else.

**Well, before beggining the story let me say something. YAY! I'm back to writing, which I really needed to do. You see, for those who might want to waste their time reading this, I'm Spanish and I've been learning English since I was 4 or 5 years old as it's a language that really attracts me. So, I used to write a lot in English before, writing extra stories for school work, writing on my diary, writing songs,... but as i grew up i stopped doing that as i get more homework, i have to study, and i've also been wasting most of my time playing video games, reading manga, watching anime and doramas or on YouTube fangirling over PewDiePie a lot. Yup. So yesterday on the english test we had to write a short story and I realized that it got very difficult for me, compared to the times I used to write each and everyday. So here I am now, posting a new fanfiction to practice some writing.**

**I started watching ItaKiss because my sister told me about it and it seemed quite interesting, but unlike most people, I started watching the japanese dorama, the remake one of 2013 called Itazura Na Kiss Love in Tokyo, and yeah, if you guys have seen it you're probably in love with Furukawa Yuki too! after that I read the manga and watched the anime. Now I'm waiting until someone starts uploading the dorama's second season somewhere.**

**This fanfiction will be mostly based on the dorama's version, which was the first one I saw and the one I mostly remember. But obviously, this is fanfiction, so I'm gonna write about different things and situations, might include some original ones though, depending on how the story evolves.**

_**If any of you sees some mistakes, or gramatically incorrect sentences please send me a PM or leave it on a review, whichever you prefer, so I can improve my writing skills!**_

**PS; The title is based on Britt Nicole's song: Safe.**

* * *

_"Heroes know that things must happen when it is time for them to happen. A quest may not simply be abandoned; unicorns may go unrescued for a long time, but not forever; a happy ending cannot come in the middle of the story." _  
_― Peter S. Beagle, The Last Unicorn _

KOTOKO'S POV

My name is Aihara Kotoko and I'm 17. Lately, my life has been more exciting than ever. Do you want to know why? Well, let me start by telling you that my love story revolves around Irie Naoki, the boy I'm in love with since he did a speech at Tonan High School's entrance ceremony. He's in Class A, he's a genius, and I'm a stupid girl from Class F. Recently, I gathered some courage and gave him a love letter expressing how much I have admired him all these years and he rejected it. But obviously my luck couldn't be worse.

After that incident happened, my dad had bought a new house and the same day we moved in, it collapsed because of its bad construction during an earthquake. The worst of all is this: when my dad's best friend saw us on the news he offered us to stay with him and his family. It was really nice of him and we accepted his offer just for a while until we found a new place to live in. Would've been better if his older son weren't the almighty IRIE NAOKI!

So yeah, I've been living with the Irie's for a while now, but I guess I should tell you my story from the beginning, right?

"Kotoko-chan! Dinner's ready!" Obasan called from downstairs.

"Hai! Coming down in a minute!"

I put the letter I wrote for Irie-kun inside the envelope again and put back in the drawer. I kept reading and reading it many times since he turned me down, it was the only thing that kept me from crying. Reading it made me feel like I was living in the moment I wrote it, when he still hadn't rejected me. Sounds stupid right? But it made me feel a little better, though very nostalgic too.  
I headed downstairs, drowned in my own thoughts when I bumped into someone coming out of the bathroom.

"Oops, sumima-" my words got caught in my throat as I looked up and saw Irie-kun's face at 10 cm of mine. You could really appreciate how handsome he was, his perfect features, his cold brown eyes, his perfect silky black hair that made me want to run my hands through... And my descriptions and daydreams could go on for a whole day.

"Hmf-" was his only response as he turned around and headed for the kitchen.

I followed him happily, ignoring his cold response as I knew he was always like this, dreaming of a time when he would finally return my feelings and we'd live happily ever after.

"These look delicious!" I said as I sat down on the chair and grabbed my chopsticks, admiring Ms. Irie's homemade food. "Itadakimasu!"

"I'm glad you enjoy my food, Kotoko-chan" Obasan commented. "You and papa are the only ones who compliment my meals. I'm sure Onii-chan and Yuuki like it too but sometimes a compliment and two are good to hear from them."

"If you already know we like it then there's no need for extra compliments" Irie-kun said.

Ms. Irie ignored his remark and turned to me again. "Thank god there's another woman under this roof, I still don't know how I've been able to put up with three boys for many years."

"That is if you can call _that_ a woman" Yuuki muttered, still chewing some noodles.

That comment struck me like lightning and I tried to ignore the fact that for him, I will always be a nuisance. Irie-kun's little brother has hated me since I moved into this house as his mom made him move into Irie-kun's room and I took over his. Ms. Irie even decorated with many girly things. Then, when he asked me to help him read some kanji's I wasn't even able to! Do they really teach those to kids at such young age? I don't recall ever learning those.

"Yuuki-chan, don't say such rude things!" he was told of by Obasan and instantly shut his mouth.

I took a glance at Irie-kun's reaction at his brother's retort and as expected he just looked at me, smirked a little and then kept ignoring everything, eating in silence. I always wondered what he was thinking; he was just so mysterious... It was painful to see that if he didn't give much attention to his family, he'd give me even less. It would take a lot of effort to make him notice me as something more than just a baka living under the same roof.

After dinner, while Ojisan and Irie-kun were having some coffee I helped Ms. Irie with the dishes. On the way to my bedroom I wished Irie-kun a good night.

"Oyasuminaisai Irie-kun" I whispered, quickly closing the door to my bedroom. I still had to recover from his rejection and it was still kind of difficult talking to him. Plus, I didn't want to confirm the fact that there would be no response. "Sweet dreams..." I said, as I lay back on the door and let myself fall on the floor.

There's no way I'd ever give up on Irie-kun but it was still hard to talk to him. The worst thing is that he seems to enjoy seeing me suffer like this, and I, as the great baka I am, keep giving him the pleasure to do so. Will this hole inside ever disappear? Is he ever going to accept me? Is he ever going to fall in love with me? Those questions kept eating me inside, sending sharp knifes straight to my stomach while my heart was aching like it never did before.  
After a while, I couldn't keep up with the pain and decided to distract myself. I grabbed my computer and did what I usually do when I'm sad; visit online shops to keep up with the new trends and saving some items in the shopping cart but not buying them as I don't have a credit card and dad isn't fond of online shopping, always saying that you can't trust it. To be honest it kind of helped me cheer up a little.

NAOKI'S POV

I realized that Kotoko's mood changed depending on who she was talking to. To make it clearer, whenever she talked to her friends, her dad or my family she'd be cheerful and when she addressed to me she'd be somewhat more reserved, quiet, as if she were a scared animal. I guess it is normal after I rejected her love letter. I didn't want it so why should I have accepted it and make her think she had a chance. I don't really mind her current attitude towards me though, it makes things easier for me; at least I get some peace. Still, I can't understand how she thinks that I could ever fall for her when we are totally opposites. I'm in Class A, she's in F. I'm quiet, she's noisy. I'm an organized person, she's just a mess. I don't mind being alone, she loves being surrounded. I don't care about love, love is her goal. I only speak when needed, she never shuts the hell up. She's just so naive, like a kid.

Since her dad and her moved here there have been very few moments to relax and enjoy the peaceful silence while reading a book. Don't get me wrong here, I don't mind Mr. Aihara, but that baka is just annoying. I could even tell even from the day she tried to give me that letter. I think she suffers from a serious case of ADHD. And the funny-looking faces she makes at all times amuse me so much it makes me think it might be the only good quality she has. During dinner, when Yuuki said that to her, rude or not, the face she made was just priceless.

On the way to my bedroom she stormed by, heading to her room. When I had my hand on the door knob I heard her whisper something.

"Oyasuminasai Irie-kun..."

"Oyasumi, Aihara San" I replied, just to be polite, but she had already closed the door without waiting for my response.

Seconds later I heard a light bump against her bedroom's door which I analyzed as her laying against it. Was it that suffocating to her to wish me a good night? Why didn't she wait for my reply? As I entered my bedroom and lay on the bed I wondered why it was so silent. Normally, with those walls almost made of paper that separate our rooms, I'd be hearing her muttering something to herself, or some noise, as she usually goes to bed later than me. But no sound came to my ears apart from my brother's snores.

I was tired, but couldn't seem to fall asleep. I kept fighting with the thin line between consciousness and unconsciousness and when I was about to fall completely asleep I heard a loud thump followed by a painful "Ouch! Fuck!" and some whimpers.

I got up and sighed, walking towards her bedroom. I knocked lightly on the door but there was no response so I opened it to see what was going on and tell her off for waking me up again. I wish I hadn't. I found myself staring at Aihara-san's butt. She was only wearing her pink hearted underwear and bra and was about to put on her pajamas. When she felt that someone was observing her she turned around, her head halfway outside of her pj's shirt.

"Irie-kun!" she squealed and quickly finished dressing up. "What are you doing here?!"

Hearing her loud voice I hurried to get inside her room and close her door before she woke anyone else up. She looked so uncomfortable it was impossible not to enjoy the moment.

"Shhht! You're going to wake the whole neighborhood up!" I whispered.

"Wha- Wha- What are you doing here?"

"I came by to see you in your underwear so I had something good to dream of tonight" I replied, trying use the sexiest voice my knowledge could think of.

"Eh?!"

"Baaaaaaka... did you really expect for me to want to see you half naked? I'm only interested in women" I explained, keeping up with Yuuki's joke to see if she'd make one of those funny faces again. But she didn't, she looked really hurt.

"If you came here just to make fun of me, please stop and leave" she muttered, looking away.

Seeing that things didn't turn out as expected I explained myself trying to change her hurtful expression.

"I just came to tell you to stop being so noisy, it's annoying. You woke me up."

"Oh- gomenasai!" she bowed to me apologetically but the hurt in her eyes was still there.

I just turned around and made my way back to my room, making sure that before I closed the door she'd hear me.

"Oyasumi."

With that, I lay back again in bed and tried to sleep. Once again, I couldn't fall asleep. It wasn't because she was making any noise, but every time I closed my eyes I'd see hers filled with pain in my mind and somehow it didn't feel good. Then, I forced myself to not care the least about that. Since when was she a reason to keep me awake?


	2. CHAPTER II

KOTOKO'S POV

My alarm clock was just like hell in the morning. It kept beeping and beeping loudly, almost loud enough to wake a whole nation up. Good way to start the day. NOT! I stopped it and hid my head under the blanket, trying to fall asleep for five more minutes. Yesterday's night was the worst ever. After all Irie-kun said and done, he ended up in my bedroom and caught me in my underwear, called me non-feminine (to be honest, he said he didn't even see me as woman) and after all this he wished me a good night. What was wrong with him? It is impossible to know what's going through his mind. After all, the best for me to do would be trying to stop loving him because it would only get me hurt. I ended up falling asleep at 4:30am because I kept thinking about that. I REALLY needed some sleep.

"Kotoko! Wake up!" I heard behind the door and a loud knock on it.

Suddenly I opened my eyes and realized I had been sleeping for more than thirty minutes. I wouldn't have time to have breakfast, even just a few minutes to get ready before we left.

"Shit!" I got up and went quickly to my closet. "I'll be ready soon!"

I looked at my clothes in desperation, then at my alarm clock. I was in a hurry. After putting on my school uniform I took look at myself in the mirror. I looked like I hadn't slept in two days. Heavy bags under my eyes, pale skin, messy hair... Zombies were sure better-looking than me at the moment. With not much time left, I put my hair in a pony tail and some corrector under my eyes to hide those huge bags that were pointing out my lack of sleep. It didn't make much of a difference, but it was better than nothing.

I grabbed my school bag and headed to the dining room to say goodbye.

"Ohayou!" I greeted and kissed my father on the cheek. "Has Irie-kun left?" I asked. It was the first time I wished he did, so I wouldn't have to walk with him to school.

"Hai, just before you came downstairs" Obasan said.

I let out the breath I didn't realize I was holding. That was a relive.

"I must be leaving too then!" I said and ran to the entrance.

"Aren't you bringing something to eat with you at least?" I heard Obasama ask.

"Iie, I'll buy something there. 's okay" I answered, putting on my shoes and opening the door. "Ittekimasu!"

Sometimes I think Kami-sama hates me and wants to make my life miserable. When something good is finally happening, he takes it away from me. First, our new house, which was destroyed. Then we moved here and I was happy to be going to live with Irie-kun but apparently he did really hate me. And now, when I thought I'd be walking to school by myself, I find him waiting outside right in front of the door.

"Oh! Umm, ohayou..." I said. "I thought you had already left."

"Hmmm" was his only response.

"Let's go then!"

On our way to school silence was a thick wall between us. A very awkward one. Recalling last night's events I started blushing and slowed my pace to be further from him. After a few more steps he slowed his too until he was almost next to me.

"You look terrible today."

There again. Saying the worst things that no woman would want to hear. A sharp pain shot through my heart and I tried to hold back my tears. _Don't cry, don't cry, not in front of this jerk. _I kept repeating myself. A few seconds passed by until I answered him.

"Thank you for pointing it out, I hadn't realized" I spat back in sarcasm and walked faster to get away from him.

The man I was in love with treated me like shit, he hated me. I was getting sick of it. This time it was official, I would forget about him. I would completely forget about him and while doing that, I'd show him I wasn't as stupid as he thought. Damn right!

"Kotoko!" Jinko and Satomi were waiting for me at the school's entrance. Their faces went pale when they saw how I looked. "What happened to you?!"

"I'll tell you later, let's get inside for now, please" I begged.

At that moment, Irie-kun walked by without looking at me. I completely ignored him.

"Are you still thinking about him rejecting you? Is that why you look like this?" Satomi asked.

Oh, right. They didn't know that I was stuck inside the same house as him and they couldn't know. That's what Irie-kun told me.

"Yeah, I had a horrible dream today about him and didn't get much sleep after that" I lied.

"Forget about him already, he doesn't deserve someone like you. And you should be treated and adored the way Kinnosuke does" Jinko said waving her hands in the air.

I nodded my head. It made me happy to have friends like them, they would always give me advice, help me, be there for me. They would never fail me. I was glad I met them, they were an important part of my life. What would I do without them?

"I will, girls" I put my arms around them, ending up between them, and we made our way to the classroom. "I hope I can..."

"That's right! Now that we're almost on exams we'll just focus on trying to find some hottie out there " Jinko said happily. "We have to go to the library, I heard that most of the boys are going there to prepare for the exams!"

"That's a great idea," Satomi agreed but quickly changed her expression into a confused one, "-but does any of you know where the library is?"

Both of them lowered their heads defeated and I couldn't help but laugh. Truth is I didn't know either.

"Anyways girls, I think I'll pass."

They both looked at me, shocked.

"For now" I quickly added and their expressions softened. "Before starting to look for someone else, I want to pass my exams first, so I'm going to spend most of the time studying" I explained.

Their shocked came back in a flash.

"What's happened to you?! Have you gone crazy?" Satomi asked.

"I wish, but my intention is to show Irie-kun that I am smart too."

During lunch time I wanted some time for myself to think about everything and inside my classroom wasn't a good place for it so I left.  
Sitting by myself outside, I realized that it would be hard forgetting about him. I ate my lunch in silence as people passed by, laughing, holding hands... I felt small and alone at the moment. Not for too long though.

I felt someone sit beside me and wrap an arm around me. Kinnosuke.

"What are you doing out here alone?" Kin-chan asked and squeezed me against him a little. "When I went back to our class you weren't there. Jinko and Satomi said you were here. What's going on inside this complex mind of yours?"

"I'm going to try and forget about Irie Naoki."

His body went still for a moment and relaxed after a moment. "Stop joking like that" he smiled at me.

I shook my head. "I'm not joking, Kin-chan. I really want to stop loving that man. He's no good for me."

He suddenly stood and lowered himself at my level, put his hands on my shoulders and brought his face closer to mine.

"You can't do that!" he yelled shaking me. "You can't!"

That came really unexpected.

"I thought it would make you happy" I whispered, still not believing what he just said. He was the only boy that ever showed me he truly loved me and now he didn't want me to stop loving another man?!

"I don't want to win your heart without fighting for it! I want to show that jerk that I'm the best man for you!" His body was shaking in anger.

"There's no need to do so because he doesn't even want me, remember? He rejected me!" I yelled back, trying hard not to cry.

When he saw my hurt expression he stopped shaking and embraced me.

"I'm sorry, Kotoko, I didn't mean to make you sad."

"It's okay" I said.

"I was wrong though."

"Huh?" What was he talking about?

"You still don't love me, so I have to keep fighting for it. I'll fight you until I win, and when I do, you'll love me" he explained himself.

For the first time ever, hearing those words made me kind of happy. At least there was somebody out there who wanted me. I hugged him back.

"Thank you, Kin-chan. You always know what to say to cheer me up" I said and untangled myself from him. "I'm going back to our classroom, you coming?"

NAOKI'S POV

I had trouble sleeping last night, and almost missed breakfast time. I kept thinking of what I said to her in her bedroom and remembered her teary eyes. It kind of made me feel guilty. That's why I couldn't fall asleep.

I had to wake Kotoko up and when I made sure she was getting ready I left. I was about to turn around the corner when I thought of what I had said to her and that it probably kept her awake most of the night. That would explain why she had woken up very late this morning.  
Feeling guilty, I decided to go back and wait for her outside. She wasn't expecting me there, at least that was the impression I got. I noticed she looked really tired.

On our way to school I decided to say something about it.

"You look terrible today."

She suddenly stopped on her feet and looked at me, anger in her eyes.

"Thank you for pointing it out, I hadn't realized."

Her response was cold and full of sarcasm, for what I detected. She took it the wrong way and started walking away. I did not try to explain myself; it wasn't my problem she misunderstood. Plus, it's not like I was lying, she did look terrible. Unlike other times, she didn't put much effort into getting ready for school.

When I reached school, she was at the entrance with her friends.

"I'll tell you later, let's get inside for now, please" I heard her say.

I walked by trying to give her a quick glance to warn her about telling them that we were living together. She wasn't looking.

During lunch time I walked past her classroom to see if she was there. She wasn't. I had to find her and make sure she wouldn't say anything, if she still hadn't said anything of course. I'd kill her if she had.

Walking through the corridors I looked outside the window and saw her sitting on a bench, her back on me. That guy, Kinnosuke I think, was in front of her, his face very close to her. Were they kissing? In other cases I'd laugh at my question, who would want to kiss her? But that guy was stupid enough to be in love with her so maybe they actually were. It couldn't be though, she loved me right? That's what I thought until something made me doubt the fact. He was hugging her and she wasn't doing anything to push him away, in fact, she hugged him back and tightly. After a moment, they both started walking away. The Kinnosuke guy, he was too close to her.

What was going on? She was supposed to be in love with me, why did she let him so close to her? What's worse, why was I even bothering about this? I went back to my classroom, deciding to leave my talk with her for later. But I never got the chance.

Back home I was waiting in the living room, a book on my hands. I'd talk to her when she came from school. But I waited and waited, and kept reading. At 7pm I finished the book and put it aside, she wasn't back yet.

"Why is Kotoko-chan so late?" mother asked staring worried at the door.

"Maybe some evil man has taken her" Yuuki said. "He'd do us all a favor."

Mother hadn't heard him, she was to worried to pay attention at anything but her thoughts of Kotoko so I had to tell him off.

"That was rude, Yuuki."

"But you don't even want her here, Onii-chan!"

I ignored him and stood up, grabbed my jacket and turned to mother. Even I was starting to get a bit worried. She's so stupid and innocent that any man could easily trick her into anything. If she was with that Kinnosuke and he forced her or something... Why did my brain just think about that?!

"I'll go look for her, don't worry."

When I had my hand on the doorknob somebody opened it.

"Kotoko-chan!" Mother exclaimed. "I was so worried! Where were you? Did any weird man follow you?"

I rolled my eyes, she was so dramatic.

"Iie, I was in the library studying for my exams. I thought it would be difficult to do so here as I wouldn't be able to focus. Gomennasai, Obasan, I didn't want to make you worry. Hontoni gomennasai!"

"Daijoubu, as long as you're okay there's no need to worry" mother smiled and went back to the kitchen, leaving us alone.

She looked at me and saw me holding my jacket.

"Oh, did you go look for me?" she asked. "You shouldn't have, it's cold outside."

"Hmmf- I didn't" I replied. "Mother told me and I was about to leave when you came in. As if I would go look for you in the cold on my own will."

"Oh well, I guess if someday I get lost I'll die of hypothermia" she said angrily. "Doesn't sound too bad next to the thought of you."

It was the first time she talked about me like that, as if she despised me. I went stiff for a moment at her retort, but quickly went back to my usual expressionless self and headed to my bedroom. She followed behind and closed her door loudly.

During dinner you could feel the tension between us in the air. I ate my food in silence as usual, but stole a cold glance at her from time to time to make her uncomfortable. She deserved it for what she said. She didn't look at me once.  
When she finished and went upstairs I followed quickly, this was my chance to find out if she had told her friends or not about our living condition.

She was about to close her bedroom's door but I stopped it with my foot.

"I want to talk to you."

She brusquely opened her door and looked directly at my eyes, hers full of hatred.

"Nani?"

"Have you told your friends we are living together?"

"Don't worry for your little secret about us being under the same roof, right now I don't want anyone to know either so it's safe" she said short.

"Seems like you stopped loving me then, huh?" I said, wanting to pick on her. "Seems like you've finally realized you're not good enough for me."

I could see her holding her breath and trying to stay calm, maybe not to shout at me or cry in front of me. When she regained her composure she answered.

"Listen, I don't have time for you, there are more important things to do, so please, let me close the door."

I looked at my left foot, which was still holding the door and then at her.

"Are you going to call that brilliant boyfriend of yours? You were with him this afternoon, weren't you?"

I still don't know what made me say that, but I kind of wanted to hear her answer.

"First of all, it is none of your business but I'm gonna make things clear. No, I wasn't with him this afternoon I ACTUALLY was studying, and no again, I'm not going to give him a call, I am going to study" she explained. "Now that you know, leave me alone" she looked at my foot and then at me, moving her head to the side various time to make me understand she want me to move it away.  
I did and she closed the door right in front of my face.

Lying on my bed I thought why I had asked her those questions. What was I worried about? Why did I care about that guy being too close to her? The answer was hard to find, even though I didn't like her I somehow wanted her to like me.


End file.
